An independent Interim Evaluation was commissioned by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP) to assess the effectiveness and impact of the North East Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and its implementation on the region’s economy, and to assess the impact of the role of the North East LEP in co-ordinating and delivering the SEP.

The work was undertaken by Steer Economic Development (Steer-ED) between June 2018 and October 2021 over three annual stages, involving a mix of evaluation methods, including logic model development, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and case study development. 

The findings of this study are being used to establish and embed evaluation processes and procedures, ensuring a strong and structured approach to evaluation across the North East LEP, and will enable a Final Evaluation, timetabled to complete in 2025, which will assess the impact of the SEP’s delivery over the full 10 year first phase period between 2014 and 2024.